Thoughts on College Panic…I Mean Planning

During each stage of parenthood, I say to myself “this one is the hardest”. In reality, as your child grows, there are many different issues, each hard in its own way. When my daughter was very young, it felt like her teenage years were an eternity away. Right now, she is in her junior year of high school and I will say it again . . . definitely the hardest stage! Who is with me? Tutors, ACTs, SATs, college essay, college applications, financial planning—not to mention your child leaving home—how do you prepare for that? 

It has been said that the difficulty of the teenage years helps you to let them go. I am not sure I agree with that, but I am counting on the MCL resources below to ease this transition. I hope they will help you too! By the way, if you figure any of this out, please let me know. I will be at the Robbinsville reference desk, sitting right next to our college planning section, cautiously optimistic that somehow I will get though it!

Be as prepared as you can be with Mercer County Library System’s college planning resources, including test preparation, study guides, and financial planning. Here is what you will find:

Test Prep

Visit our website and get access to Learning Express Library, a test practice database. You will find interactive practice tests and tutorial courses. In the College Preparation Center there are sections for the SAT, ACT, AP, PSAT, and more. These include strategies and tips along with full length practice tests and detailed answer explanations. Search our catalog and find a wide assortment of test prep books that include practice tests and answers, too! We have titles from Princeton Review, Kaplan, and Barron’s, such as:

Princeton Review Cracking the ACT

Kaplan SAT Strategies, Practice and Review

Barron’s AP Chemistry

College Admissions and Planning

Discover ebooks in our Learning Express Library which provide practice for writing a great college essay and include strategies to strengthen proofreading and editing skills.

Find the right school, survive the admissions process, and figure out how to pay for it all (including scholarship information)! Here are some key titles:

College Board College Handbook

Princeton Review Paying for College without Going Broke

Peterson’s Scholarships, Grants and Prizes

—Ilene, Robbinsville Branch